LYNN, Mass. (AP) — An investigation by the Essex district attorney's office has determined that police officers were justified when they shot and killed a 23-year-old man trying to flee a traffic stop in Lynn.

District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett said Thursday that officers who fired on Brandon Payne "were justified in their use of deadly force in order to save themselves and possibly others from serious harm or even death."

Investigators say Payne and three others were planning an armed home invasion when they were stopped on July 22. Payne, in an attempt to get away, repeatedly slammed his vehicle into a police cruiser. Three Lynn officers and a state trooper opened fire. Payne died of gunshot wounds the following day.